Meet the 2025–2026 Family Leaders

In 2025, ABCD launched the Family Experience Network, a milestone in our commitment to center family voice and lived experience in early childhood systems work across Colorado.

Seventeen Family Leaders from communities statewide were selected to help guide ABCD’s work. Each brings deep lived experience, strong community connections, and insights shaped by their own family journeys. Together, they represent diverse cultures, languages, and geographies, from across Colorado, ensuring our efforts stay grounded in what families truly need. We are deeply honored to learn from these caring, committed parents and to work alongside them as co-leaders in this work.

ABCD’s Family Leaders bring lived experience and strong community connections, shaped by their own family journeys. They come from communities across Colorado and represent many cultures and languages. Together, they help ensure ABCD’s work stays rooted in what families truly need. We are honored to learn from them and work alongside them.

Eli

Larimer County

Eli is the mother of three children, ages 19, 6, and 3, including a child with autism who survived a dog attack and experiences post-traumatic stress disorder. She found strength and support by connecting with other families in her community. Over several years, she has organized resource events in Spanish and created a large WhatsApp group where families share information, support one another, and work together to break down barriers, myths, and stigmas related to disability and cultural understanding. (Spanish-speaking)

Maggie

Grand County

Maggie is a mom of three living in a rural mountain community who cares deeply about children’s health and access to care. As the parent of a preschooler with Down syndrome, her family has navigated early intervention, medical care, and school supports while living far from many services, and Maggie has found support through the Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association, Children’s Hospital, and family councils. (English-speaking)

Karina

Denver County

Karina is a parent and community promoter who began learning about child development by attending workshops, asking questions, and connecting with other parents as she navigated early supports for her children. Through her involvement with EPAC, Head Start, dental health programs, and Children’s Hospital family councils, she shares information and resources with families and wants parents to feel confident asking questions and supporting their children without feeling judged. (Spanish-speaking)

Dominique

Arapahoe County

Dominique is a parent of young children who began navigating early intervention and therapy services with little guidance and long waits for support. With encouragement from church-based mom groups and parent communities, she wants families to feel less isolated and more confident using their voice as they figure out what their children need. (English-speaking)

Milagros

Adams County

Milagros is the mother of a child with a life-long medical condition. In the years before 2025, it was very difficult to obtain and have access to the medications her son Paolo needed because he did not have health insurance. Many times, they ended up in the emergency room due to the lack of insurance and the financial barriers to purchasing his medications.This very frustrating and painful chapter of her life as a mother guided her and led her to learn how to manage complex medical needs, hospital stays, and how to access resources. For the past few years, Milagros has worked as a Community Navigator and Promotora. She supports and educates families by sharing resources and information based on their children’s medical needs. Her greatest joy in 2025 was that her son Paolo had access to his medications throughout the entire year and succeeded in school with good grades because he now has Medicaid. She continues to walk alongside low-income Latino families in her community, helping them understand the path toward health and well-being for their children. She feels deeply grateful to this country for the opportunity it provides to keep their children alive. (Spanish-speaking)

Amanda

Alamosa County

Amanda is a parent of two daughters and an active community member in Alamosa. Amanda has navigated speech therapy and occupational therapy appointments, as well as medical appointments and school supports, and has participated in programs such as Parents as Teachers, HIPPY, SafeCare, and Nurse Family Partnership. Amanda also identifies as an adult with lived disability experience and wants to help families better understand resources and strengthen communication between families and medical providers. (English-speaking)

Neelab

Arapahoe County

Hello, my name is Neelab. I am 31 years old and a parent of a young child with autism. When I first moved to the United States, I did not yet know what autism was or how to access the services and support available for my child. Over time, by learning about screening, services, and available resources, I was able to increase my knowledge and better understand how to care for my child.I introduce myself among families and active parents; through parent groups and community gatherings, I connect with other families and share my experiences and information. My goal is for families to learn from one another, feel supported, and confidently access and navigate the services and resources available to them. I believe no parent is alone, and by supporting each other, the journey of raising and caring for our children becomes easier and more meaningful. (Speaks Dari and English)

Kimberly

Jefferson County

Kimberly is a parent of children with disabilities and an adult with lived disability experience herself. Alongside her children, she is involved in Special Olympics Colorado and community activities, and through years of navigating therapies, school supports, and services, she wants families to feel welcomed, included, and respected as they seek support for their children. (English-speaking)

Masouma

Adams County

Masouma is a parent and early childhood student who began learning more about child development through her own experience navigating screenings and services for her family. She is closely connected to immigrant and refugee communities and supports families through home visiting, interpretation, and community events, and she wants families who are new to systems to feel informed, prepared, and respected when seeking support. (Speaks Dari and English)

Bridget

Arapahoe County

Bridget is a parent who has navigated early intervention services for her child and stays connected through her church, childcare community, and friends who support one another. Through her own experience, she hopes to encourage families who may feel worried or unsure to ask questions, seek support, and know their concerns matter. (English-speaking)

Nancy

Adams County

Nancy is a parent of four children, three with disabilities, who remembers how challenging it was to navigate services while learning English and trying to understand paperwork and long waitlists. Through her involvement in hospital committees and Spanish-language family groups, she helps families find information in their own language and wants parents to know where to turn for help and that they do not have to navigate these systems alone. (Spanish-speaking)

Huda

Arapahoe County

Huda is a parent who supports families as an early childhood trainer through home visiting and online education, especially refugee and immigrant families navigating new systems. Listening to families during home visits and classes, she knows how confusing early childhood screening, paperwork, and referrals can feel and wants families to receive clear information, feel respected, and build trusting relationships with providers across languages and cultures. (Speaks English, Dari, and Arabic)

Analisa

Adams County

Analisa is a mother of seven whose youngest child has Down syndrome, and her family has navigated major medical care, surgeries, and early therapies alongside everyday family life. After walking this journey herself, she created a local support group in her community for families of children with Down syndrome and values connection, shared understanding, and families supporting one another through similar experiences. (English-speaking)

Robin

Lincoln County

Robin is a parent of an adult child with autism who grew up in a rural community with very limited local services and remembers the long wait it took to receive a diagnosis and support. Based on that experience, she is now working to create a nonprofit in her community to provide day care and support for adults with disabilities and wants families to get help earlier and feel supported across the lifespan. (English-speaking)

Briana

El Paso County

Briana Anthony is a family leader, advocate, and community connector who brings lived experience into systems-level work. She is passionate about elevating family voice, advancing equity, and creating accessible, trauma-informed spaces where families can engage, heal, and lead together. Briana is grateful to be part of the ABCD community and looks forward to collaborating with families and partners throughout the year. (English-speaking)

Maria

Arapahoe County

Maria is the parent of a young child with complex medical needs, and her family spends much of their time navigating medical appointments, therapies, and hospital care. Through her involvement with the Hispanic Family Council at Children’s Hospital, Ronald McDonald House of Charities former prolonged stay, Family Advocate at CHCO Kidstreet and other family support groups, she wants families to receive information in their preferred language and feel supported as they navigate medical care and services. (Speaks Spanish and English)

Tania

Adams County

Tania is a parent who navigated evaluations, therapies, and a long process to get an IEP for her child after moving to Colorado, including paying for some services while waiting. Through parent groups and community connections, she now shares what she learned so other families can better understand their options and next steps. (Spanish-speaking)

Our work is supported in part by the Special Olympics Systems Change for Inclusive Health

Subgrant, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The contents of this

project are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Department of Health and Human Services.